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The House will take the reins in writing farm bill 2023. House Ag Chairman Thompson says the pen is “firmly” in his hand, with few tweaks to be made from 2018. The Senate says their version is nearly complete.

Key items we are watching this week include inflation (CPI and PPI) and retail sales reports, earnings from Andersons, Deere, Mosaic and Nutrien, and USDA’s baseline forecast.

And with last week’s strong job’s report acting as an “all clear signal” for the Fed to remain hawkish, forget the “hard“ vs. “soft” landing debate, and think “long landing.”

Going forward, strategic planning should focus on three tangible activities

On the watchlist this week are the recent actions by the Fed. As well as recent and upcoming earning reports.

Eyes are on Thursday’s GDP release and public company earnings.

Ken Zuckerberg writes, “I remain intensively focused on the outlook for grain and fertilizer prices.”

The drop in natural gas and fertilizer prices is very noteworthy, while equity markets have begun the year higher.

Looking ahead we see an environment of margin pressure amidst a slowing economy, rising interest rates, high labor and energy costs (namely diesel fuel), and trade uncertainty with China and possibly Mexico.

Equity markets finished 2022 in the red as fears of a U.S. and global recession have become the consensus view. Be careful. Experience tells me that when everyone decides to sit on the same side of the canoe, it can tip